Stock-distributer and gas-seal for metallurgical furnaces.



PATENTEIJ MAR. 24, 1908.

M. B. PARKER. STOCK DISTRIBUTEB AND GAS SEAL FOR METAL LURGIOAL FURNACES APPLICATION FILED MAR.30.1906.

S SHEETS--SEEBT 1 PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908.

M. B. PARKER. 4 STUCK DISTRIBUT-BR AND GAS SEAL FOR METALLURGICAL FURNACES.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR 30,1905.

3 SHBETSSHBET 2.

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175 7722! 3 fari??? .2

PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908 B PARKER.

ACES

STOCK ISTMBUTBB AND GAS SEAL FOR METALLURGICAL FURN APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

MERRILL B. PARKER, OF ROCKWOOD, TENNESSEE.

STOGK'DISTBIBUTEIR- AND GAS SEAL FOR METALLURGICAL FURNACES,

No. 583,044. Specification Letters FPaten't. Patented. March 1908.

Application flled March. 30. 1906. Serial hr. 308,951.

To all ".Ullmlt it may emrcrrn:

' distri de osited into afeed hopper organization by Be it known that 1, illlfil'tRI'LL B. Penman, a citizen oi the Unitrd States, residing at llock'wood, in the county of ltoane and State of Tennessee, have invented new and. useful Improvements in Stock-Distributors and Gas-Seals for Metallurgical Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a stock distributer and gas seal for metallurgical furnaces, and the primary object of the same is to provide ositively operating means for equallty linting the coarse and finer materia s a s ip to avoid a deposit of all the line material on'one portion of the bell and the coarse ,material on another part of the latter, and

also to produce a reliable gas scatto prevent the escape of the ases from the furnace when the bell is opene to admit the material into the furnace.

This stock distributor and gas seal is of v the type illustrated byU. S. Letters Patent .ter doors,

Nos. 737 ,519 and 737,520, dated February "17, 1903; 1

The improved sists of a distributor ring and four distribu- These doors are rectangular in shape and are hinged to the bottom oi'tli'e distributor ring, and each door is operated in- 'dependently and directly by means tf a p18.

ton rodcooperating with a cylinder, each piston rod being attached to an intermediate portion of each door. Two of the doors in the improved distributer and seal are allowed to remain o en and hang :in vertical position,

. larly illustrating the features of the invention. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism illustrated by Fig. 2, and partially broken away, a art of the doors or gates being shown in c osed position. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the ring and doors or gates showing the piston rods broken away an attached to a. part of the gates. Fig. 5

distributer and seal con is a sccticuiel elevation of one oi the cylinders and piston rods for one oi the doors.

Similar characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

All of the parts of the apparatus shown, except those which will be more fully hereinafter set forth, are similar to the construction disclosed by the patents hercinbefore mentioned, and the specific improvements in the present instance are confined to the doors arranged immediately under the receiving hopper and above the cone or bell, which are devices well known in the art.

The ship car A shown in the drawings is elevated over the inclined track'B by the lllBGlilfll'llSlil shown, and when it reaches a certain point is caused to dump inwardly and deposit its contents into the receiving hopper l, which, in the present instance, is elliptical in form and so arranged that the longer axis thereof will be directly under the outlet end. of the ship car, so as to catch all of the load. The receiving hopper 1 has a bottom outlet opening 2 of" circular form, and directly under the said opening, and in. close relation thereto, a dooror gate supporting ring 3 disposed and, has a downwardly directed inclined chute or supplemental hopper 4, with an enlarged bottom opening 5. The center of the opening 5 is disposed in vertical alinci'nent with relation to the apex of the cone or hell 6, which lowered and raised, or moved vertically in reverse directions to open and close the inlet aperture or mouth of the furnace 7. The depending auxiliary chute 4 of the ring 3 is inclosed by a conical sheathing 8, which extends downwardly to the top of the furnace around the inlet aperture or mouth of the latter. The auxiliary hopper or chute 4 is practically in the "form of an inverted quadrangular, truncated pyramid, and projecting downwardly from the center of the sides thereof are pairs of cars 9, to which corresponding ears 1O projecting above the upper edges of rectangular doors or gates 11 are pivotally. connccted, so that the doors or gateswill be free to swing inwardly and outwardly. These doors or gates 11 have their lower edges beveled outwardly anddownwardly, as at 12, to permit the same to closely fit against each other when moved inwardly, and at the center of; the lower edge of each door is aslot 13 to receive the bell operating rod 1-4.

At the center of the outer side of each door or gate 11 and nearer the upper edge of the latter, are a pair of coupling bosses or cars 15, and movably attached to each door through the medium of the ears or bosses 15 is a piston rod 16, which is rigid throughout its en tire length and actuated by a suitable piston 17, shown in dotted lines by Fig. 3, and disposed in a cylinder 18 supported on a pillar 19. Each piston 17 is engaged by a spring 20, which has the function toreturn the piston to normal position when released, or when the fluid pressure operating medium is liberated or withdrawn therefrom. The cylinders 18 with the pistons 17 therein and the piston rods 16, cooperate with each door or gate 11, and have a positive or direct action with respect to the latter, without the least lost motion, and with increased power in view of the fact that the piston. rods 16 are rigid throughout their entire lengths, and are attached to the doors or gates at the points specified to insure a quick responsive action of the said doors or gates in the closing and opening movements of the lat rer.

The doors or gates, will he understood; are arranged in opposing pairs, one pair of these doors or gates being closed or moved inwardly to first form a V-shaped trough, as clearly shown by Fig. 3, and subsequently the doors first forming the V-shapcd trough are opened and the remaining pair ofv doors or gates are moved to occupy a similar position, and this operation is continued in alternation as long as maybe desired, or until the charge of material for the furnaces has been fully deposited in. the receiving hopper and roperly distributed or disposed around the bell. In charging the furnace, while two of the doors are moved inwardly and form the V-shaped trough, a skip car-load-of material is deposited in the receiving hopper, and one of the doors or gates is moved to open position, and thus the bottom of the V-shaped trough, as formed by the remaining inwardly projected door or gat e, becomes a sloping spout, and the remannng do'ors or gates hanging in vertical position provide end closures, and by this means the material striking the door or gate projected inwardly at an angle is diverted and thrown against the opposing door or gate and thus causes the equal distribution of the coarse and finer material embodied in the stock around one portion of the bell. The door or gate of the pairof doors which, asjust explained, was opened, to provide a diverting nieansfor its opposing inwardly projecting inclined door or ate, is then of itself projected inwardly and the companion door or gate is opened and caused to assume a vertical position toated, are then similarly actuated and alternately projected inwardly in inclined position and drawn outwardly into open or vertical position. By this means, the stock will he regularly deposited around the hell with the coarse andfiner material equally disposed with respect ,to the bell. It is unnecessary to operate any particular pair of doors or gates,.as either pair may be actuated, as just set forth, and made to form a chute or spout in any one of four directions. Furthermore, two of the doors may be closed, and with the addition of the remaining doors in vertical position at the ends of the closed doors, a gas seal'is produced which prevents furnace gases from escaping when the bell is arranged to admit the material into the furnaces. I

The cylinders 18 are adapted to be charged with steam or other fluid pressure, and are preferably single actin the weight of each door being such that w ien the fiuidpressure is released from the corres onding cylinder the piston in the latter wil be forced outwardly into normal position, and such movement of the piston is facilitated by the use of the release spring 20. The pressure, whether steam or other kind, is supplied to the cylinders by pipes 21, which are brought into close relation and projected from one side of the apparatus, as at 22,'and connected. in pairs to controlling valves 23, conveniently located, or within easy reaching distance of the skip car operator. By throwing either one of the valves 23 into open position, two of the cylinders 18 will be charged and operate as heretofore explained. It will be understood, however, that these controlling valves will be so constructed that one cylinder of each pair may be relieved of its pressure medium before the other to arrive at the operation of first opening one door or gate of each pair to serve as a diverting means for the companion door or gate which may be projected inwardly at an angle of inclination.

The arrangement of the doors or gates and the operating mechanism, as stated, provides for distributing the stock material in four directions without de )ending upon the apex of the bell to so distribute the material. It is also possible with the apparatus, as ex? plainerhto divert all of the material in one direction, or a part only in a certain direction and a portiiin in another. Through the medium of the change of operation of the doors, which can be quickly accomplished by the actuation of the controlling valves 23, a number of combinations of distribution can be made, ifit is found advisable.

Fig. 5 showsthe preferred form of cylinder and piston rod used in connection with the doors, and it will be seen that the rigidity of ton same to have a slight movement in the cylinattached to the outer side oi one door below der to compensate for the arcuate motion of the door. The cylinder construction shown by Fig. 5 does not form a part of this invention and is well knownin other arts, the essential feature of the invention being the piston rod formed without joint or break be tween the cylinder and the door and movably the said door so as to be direct-acting and door with sensitively 0 )erating lost motion and without for opening and closing the door and in con tradistinction to those structures heretofore used, wherein the connections between the doors and the power mediums were indirect ,or loose and m some instances where the weiglrrt of the door as an entirety had to be overcome in the opening merits by reason of the engagement with such doors of the connections at points distant from the intermediate or central portions thereot i Having thus fully described the invention, what is elf. nod, is: I

1. in a och distributor and gas seal of the class specified, the combination with a receiving hopper and a furnace having abell,

I of opposing pairs of doors hinged at their u per extremities to the lower portion of t e opper above the bell, and mechanism cooperating with the doors for either simultaneousl moving the op JOSlIlg pairs of doors inwarr ly at an angle 0 inclination, or openin (inc door of the pair and permitting'the at. to remain in inwardly inclined position, and also for alternately similarly actuating the opposing pairs of doors, the said meehan ism 'ineiudinoradially disposed strai ht pisrods rigid throughout their entire engths, eachpiston rod. being movably and directly attached to the intermediate portion of,

I and. closing movemeats, and especially the opening move the upper lunged extremity of the latter, and fixed cylinders in alinement with the centers of the outer portions of the doors and having pistons therein to which the said piston rods are individually connected.

2. In an apparatus ol' the class specified, the combination with a receiving hopper and furnace bell, of pairs ol' doors mo'vably held above the bell and disposed opposite to each other, the doors being hinged to and depending from the lower portion, longitudinally straight piston rods rigid throu hout their lengths and directly connecte to the outer portions of the doors below the hinge connections for the latter, stationary cylinders having pistons therein to which the piston rods are connected, the cylinders being individuallv disposed in alinement with the oints oi" attachment of the piston rods to t 10 doors so that one 0 linder and one )iston rod f cooperate with eac 1 door, and llui pressure conveying means connected. to the cylinders for operating each pair of doors to project the latter simultaneously inward in pairs at opposing angles of inclination or to open one door and permit the other of the. opposing doors to remain atan inward angle 0 inclination and to simultaneously operate each pair of doors in a similar manner whilethe remaining doors are inactive and serve as end closing means for the active doors, the fluid pressure conve ing means emanating from one portion of t re apparatus and provided with separate controlling valves to render each pair of doors independently operative.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MERRILL B. PARKER. Witnesses:

H. K. Evans, J. E. Fox. 

